It’s not often Sarnia fans find themselves cheering for the Saginaw Spirit.
That’s because the Spirit roster included Lambton Jr. Sting AAA graduate and former Legionnaire Josh Glavin, who can now say he is a Memorial Cup champion in his rookie season.
“Just can’t describe in words what it feels like,” Glavin told the Journal.
“It’s a feeling I have never gotten in my life before, right as you come on the ice you feel the crowd, and your whole body is numb for 15 to 20 minutes,” he continued.
The Spirit defenseman finished the season with four assists and a plus/minus rating of plus 5 in 33 games played in his rookie season, and saw action in four playoff games.
The Spirit had some ups and downs, says Glavin. They were eliminated from the playoffs by the London Knight’s in six games, but as the host city for the Memorial Cup, knew they would have another shot.
“We have such a great group,” says Josh.
“After we took the loss to London, the way we stuck together, we all just pushed forward and made sure we had something at the end of the season that we could say we accomplished.”
The Spirit faced the Knights in the Western Conference finals, losing in six games. London would then go on to sweep Oshawa to win the OHL Championship, giving Saginaw another shot at their western conference rivals.
The two teams met in the preliminary round, where London would put up another win against the Spirit, before the two teams would meet in the final. Having been the only team to hand London a loss in the playoffs, the Spirit would jump out to a 3-1 lead, before London would battle back to tie it. Josh Bloom would seal it for Saginaw though, with a late goal with just 21 seconds left, giving the Spirit their first Memorial Cup win in franchise history.
This year’s Memorial Cup was a feather in the cap to the Lambton AAA program, as not only was Glavin a part of the Memorial Cup winning team, but Watford’s Evan VanGorp, a former teammate of Glavin’s, was a member of the Knights.
Glavin says that he feels this shows that Lambton can produce high level players, and is great for kids back home skating in the Lambton AAA system to see local players getting to a higher level.
“Growing up I don’t think either of us could imagine even one of us being there” said the Spirit defensemen.
“I think it’s great for Lambton. I think it’s awesome for the kids back home to see that Lambton can produce better players, and you’re seeing now you’re getting a lot better teams out of Lambton”.
For Josh’s father Mark Glavin, Sarnia Sting assistant GM and second vice president of the Lambton AAA program, that was one of the best parts – that the program was represented in the finals on both teams.
“”That was one of the coolest things, was Josh and Evan Van Gorp, those two grew up together,” said Mark Glavin.
“We’re trying to develop that winning culture with our AAA program,” Mark Glavin told the Journal.
As for Josh, it seems this year's Memorial Cup has left him wanting more.
“We have so many great veterans that I got to learn from, that personally I can take stuff from and add to my game going forward,” he says.
“At the same time, coming on the ice and winning it was a terrific feeling, but there is part of me inside that says ‘I want to win another one’, especially since I didn’t get to play as much, just seeing that feeling we got, just makes me want it more.”